Global linguistic and cultural diversity are often closely connec ted to the unique conditions of specific historical and geographical regions. The survival of existing languages is therefore tied to the development of such regions, even as progress, as is often the case, is detrimental to already weakened lan guages. Factors at different levels that affect language use among groups in a large and heterogeneous population–with a great number of languages and language varieties–are complex to say the least, and not very well studied. In Tibet, or the Tibetan Plateau, within China, no less than 39 minority languages are spoken alongside Tibetan and Chinese. In this article, anthropologist and Tibetanist Gerald Roche applies UNESCO’s “9-factor model” to make an initial estimation of the issues of linguistic vitality facing these minority languages in Tibet. Roche is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Hugo Valentin Centre.